bleachfanfictionfandomcom-20200223-history
Crossroads: Gods of Death
Part One: Journey Declared ' One Month Ago. ' "I'm joinin' the Shinigami", Kazuki could feel his heart drop as Shū spoke. They had been stood on that small hill outside of their home for what seemed like forever. They usually met like this, the Sun was setting at the end of the day, its golden radiance casting a light across the crop fields and tiny hills of the area. It was the part of the day that Kazuki looked forward to most, he'd come home and meet Shū here, on these very steps and they'd talk about all sorts of things that went on between them. He knew he was meager and ill suited to adventure, his sister being so active, having all these kooky tales to tell, it was how he lived beyond the day-to-day. It was how he saw beyond the dreary counting of customers, served and lost. It was how he stood beyond the unknowing, eternal fact that outside of the Rukongai, he knew nothing. A blank reality that remained lost to him. And this was to be the last. "I never believed in any a' this, y'know?", she continued, sounding somewhat down herself. "I was never superstitious, or religious, I was tossed a bad hand growin' up, didn't waste time believin' in another world, I'd just start thinkin' it abandoned me too", she explained slowly. There was nostalgia in her words, she was looking back to a time before Soul Society had awoken to her. "I always thought I'd end up face down in a ditch, and then it'd all quietly fade to black, that'd be the end right?", the memory was there clear as day for her. She could still feel the dying heart beat, how every inch of her body felt like it had been buried in ice. Her vision had gone red, and then it blurred out. People were there with her, she could hear them. It had been a clash on the sea, her crew had attacked a ship that was supposed to have been full of gold. Instead it was loaded to the brim with mercenaries. None of them had the time to notice that she was there, bleeding out. She simply took the time for one last smile as it all washed out. "But I woke up here, I was tossed a ticket and thrown to a home before I could even get my head around what had happened", she clutched at her chest as she spoke. The feeling of the sword bursting through her flesh was there even now, years after it had happened. "I was gonna just laze around, just waste a way in this big ol' purgatory, but I never had time for that back in that world, I was always doin' somethin'", her tone picked up. The nostalgia and the melancholy clearing away. "I need somethin' to work towards, I have a-, uh, its stupid, but its a goal", she rubbed at the back of her head, remembering her talk with Toshiaki earlier that day. An Ocean, really?. "I think you should come too", her tone became somewhat more serious. "W-what?", Kazuki replied in muffled confusion. "You wanna get your memories back, right?", she started. "Shinigami get ta' go all over the world, sure, most of its fighting, but you'd have the chance to find clues and piece it together. I know its a bit of a long shot, but its better than nothin'", she reasoned. Kazuki cast his gaze downward, contemplating the ground as it were. He had never seen a Hollow before, and as much as the stories could scare him, what truly put him ill-at-ease was the idea of fighting. As far as he could remember the closest to a fight he had ever been was arguing over breakfast. It scared him more than anything, just the notion of it, the possibility. There was still so much he didn't know about himself, and what he did know wasn't exactly flattering. Walking into a likelihood of death, even a second one, did not sit well. "N-no, I'm sorry Shū-nee, but I'm not like you", he replied, his voice was quiet, more directed at himself than anyone else. "I'm not strong..." His head lifted slightly as he felt something on his shoulder. Shū had crossed the gap while he was disparaging himself, her hand placed on his shoulder as a sign of reassurance. "Its alright, I know you don't like this kinda thing", she replied rather upbeat given their discussion. "These shoulders are strong enough for two, I'll take a' my goal, an' yours, alright?" "Y-yes, sorry...", to rely on her like that, to put Shū on the spot so he could be selfish. It made Kazuki feel miserable, but he couldn't deny the sense of relief that came with it. "It'll be fine, I promise", Shū said lastly, as the two began the slow walk up the steps to their home. Part Two: The Gates of Shinō "'ey, 'ey, watch where your goin'!", said a voice that startled Kazuki. He had been in the midst of a daze that blinded him as his eyes admitted the Sun's gaze into their pearly portal. A stinging sensation that was followed by the cry of a feminine voice and a sharper pain. He couldn't see it, but the stone-walled pain that slapped his face made it more than clear that Kazuki had walked into something. The feeling of drifting through the air, and the sharp jolt through his tail bone served as the perfect affirmation of such. He groaned for a minute, clenching his eyes shut tighter which helped to dispel his blindness. They opened in a blinking fury, the beginnings of tears hanging on their edge. As the world came into focus he spotted a hand outstretched to help him which he took with his trademark reluctance. "A-ah, thanks", he said unsure of himself as he was easily raised back into a standing position. Kazuki found himself face-to-face with his helper, a woman of tanned complexion, with jade coloured eyes and long black hair that ran straightly down her back. Her free hand carried an obscenely long sword wrapped up in an extravagant scabbard depicting a wolf running across its length in a variety of transitions. The woman donned those deep black robes that were signature of the Shinigami, atop which she was clad in a white haori. She wasn't any ordinary Shinigami, she was one of their Captains. "You alright?", she asked, an eyebrow cocked expression on her face that looked halfway between concern and incredulity. "Y-yes! I-I-I-I'm sorry!", Kazuki was overwhelmed with regret in that moment. His cheeks turning a rosy red in acknowledgement. He bowed his head in prostration, clearly apologetic for his actions. Though in truth, it was more a matter of fear than respect. A Shinigami was a cut above the rabble of the Rukongai, a Captain? They were the pinnacle of society in the land of the dead, fit to stand a head above even the nobility. Not because they had incredible influence in the matters of Soul Society, but because each individual Captain was a being of utmost rarity. They were ancient, few, and powerful. Kazuki knew immediately, just from that mistaken bump that if he had offended the woman, she could have erased him from the face of the earth with nothing more than a casual wave of her hand. He trembled at that thought. "Hahahahah, come now, Seia, there's no need to torture the poor boy", said another voice. It was beside the Captain, but several levels higher, and the voice rung out louder as such. "'ey, he did this on his own, I ain't makin' him", her response was casual, light. Was this another Captain? A friend? Kazuki wanted to take a look and confirm his fears, but he dared not raise his head until he was sure that the first Captain, this Seia, had accepted his apology. Lest he be rent asunder for his foolishness. She was having none of it though. "C'mon, he's right, no harm, no foul and all that". "O-okay, t-thanks, uh, again", Kazuki spoke fast and messily. Taking all his concentration just to get over the fear that was working up inside himself. Over and over he would tell himself You have to be stronger than this! but it wasn't so easy to heed that advice, no matter how much he wished that he could. There was nothing for it but to try calming his nerves by going with whatever came, for the moment. But as soon as he looked up, he was back in a pit of despair. The man that stood next to Seia, was not a fellow Captain looking down upon them from on high. It was a gargantuan man, bigger than any building Kazuki had ever seen in the Rukongai. Oddities, demons, and all sorts of beasts existed in Soul Society, but for all the talk of them, Kazuki had never met anyone such as the giant of a man that stood before him. His look of dread was telling. "Hah, never seen a Gatekeeper before?", asked Seia, a look of amusement plastered on her lips. "N-no, uh, I'm from the middle districts, this is the first time I've ever b-been so close to the Seireitei", at this point Kazuki just wanted to go home. He hadn't prepared himself for this, not physically and certainly not mentally. It was a foolish impulse, an attempt to keep his tiny world from collapsing, though he was already too late. "Y'wanna do the honours, big guy?", Seia asked her companion. "Of course!", the giant bellowed with elation. Or at least, it seemed like he was shouting, given the tremor that erupted from his voice. "I am Karāge, one of four individuals charged with the duty of protecting and controlling access to the Four Great Seireimon", he spoke with a clear sense of pride in his words, though Kazuki found himself struggling to listen as the giant Shinigami began walking away from his previous perch, towards a gate. That must be one of the Seireimon, Kazuki clued in. "This here is the Black Ridge Gate, situated in the North, though might have already guessed that", whilst he explained Karāge also set about displaying part of what his duties entailed. Protection of the gate was easy to guess, especially with the monolithic hammer that rested on his back. The giant's fingers dug into an indentation at the bottom of the gate, and then he lifted. Clearly a feat requiring some form of supernatural strength as the very air seemed to shake under the motion. Karāge's veins popped and his muscles knotted in strain until the gate was lifted well into the sky above. He held it there, still, though he looked back to his two smaller companions with a look of strain well worn on his features. "The other three gates are likewise situated on these cardinal points, and the road beyond here is that which prospects take to become Shinigami", beyond the gate sat a clear road. Buildings fanned out in either direction but the path forward was straight and unmarred, leading directly to the Shinō Academy, the school of the Shinigami, which was just barely visible in the distance. "Y'want a tour? I ain't busy right now", said Seia with a nonchalant tone, though the look flashed down on her by Karāge made it clear that she was lying, or shirking her responsibilities. "N-no", Kazuki replied, his eyes firmly staring at that school resting just out of reach. "I-I need to go there, I want to become a Shinigami". "Ho-ho!", Seia held no small amount of surprise at the statement given how meek the young lad had been with her upon their introduction. "Well, if you get a move on now, you could still make it for the aptitude tests", she slapped Kazuki's back, pushing him forward through the gateway. A mark of recommendation in a sense. "Y-yes! I'll be on my way, thank you!", Kazuki bowed. This time with earnest before he broke away in a sprint. Seia and Karāge watched him leave, a knowing smile upon each of their faces. "He's got a good look in his eyes", said the Captain firmly. "Yes, they did have a particularly keen gleam to them", responded the Gatekeeper with a touch more eloquent flare. They continued to watch in silence as the gate slowly closed down before them. Part Three: Success is a Measure of Spirit